Melissa Paulsen

Biography

Melissa Paulsen leads the Entrepreneurship and Education Division at the Keough School’s Pulte Institute for Global Development, working with faculty to develop interdisciplinary approaches to development programs. In addition, she coordinates student fellowships, student research opportunities, and collaborative institutes for international students, entrepreneurs, and business leaders. Paulsen also is a term assistant teaching professor in the Keough School.

Paulsen is a former assistant director of the Gigot Center for Entrepreneurship in Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. She served as director of the Center’s social entrepreneurship program and was concurrent assistant professional faculty in the undergraduate and graduate programs. She has taught courses including Social Innovation, Social Entrepreneurship, Social Enterprise Consulting, Microventure Consulting, and Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries.

Paulsen also leads workshops on social and traditional entrepreneurship, and has managed experiential and service-learning programs in South Africa, Haiti, Kenya, Uganda and Guatemala. She holds a master of nonprofit administration degree from Notre Dame and a BA in English and philosophy from Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts.